Clinical characteristics and immune profile alterations in vaccinated individuals with breakthrough Delta SARS-CoV-2 infections
Nature Communications, 2022
Fan Q., Shi J., Yang Y., Tang G., Jiang M., Li J., Tang J., Li L., Wen X., Zhang L., Deng X., Wang Y., Lan Y., Li L., Peng P., Tong Y., Lu H., Yan L., Liu Y., Cai S., Li Y., Mo X., Li M., Deng X., Hu Z., Yu H., Hu F., Liu J., Tang X., Li F.
| Disease area | Application area | Sample type | Products |
|---|---|---|---|
Infectious Diseases | Pathophysiology | Serum |  Olink Target 96 |
Abstract
Despite timely immunization programs, and efficacious vaccines conveying protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection, breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals have been reported. The Delta variant of concern (VOC) outbreak in Guangzhou resulted in local transmission in vaccinated and non-vaccinated residents, providing a unique opportunity to study the protective effects of the inactivated vaccines in breakthrough infection. Here, we find that the 2-dose vaccinated group has similar peak viral titers and comparable speeds of viral RNA clearance to the non-vaccinated group but accelerated viral suppression in the middle course of the disease. We quantitatively demonstrate that peak viral pneumonia is significantly mitigated in the 2-dose vaccine group (median 0.298%) compared with the non-vaccinated (5.77%) and 1-dose vaccine (3.34%) groups. Pneumonia absorbance is approximately 6 days ahead in the 2-dose group (median 10 days) than in the non-vaccinated group (16 days) (p = 0.003). We also observe reduced cytokine inflammation and markedly undisturbed gene transcription profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in the 2-dose group. In short, our study demonstrates that prior vaccination substantially restrains pneumonia development, reduces cytokine storms, and facilitates clinical recovery.